Rapture and agonies
by elfimania
Summary: Klaus and Caroline's reunion after she distractd him to help her friends set a trap for his brother, Kol, in the bar  ep 3x15 .
1. Chapter 1: Reunion

**/Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters. All rights go to L. J. Smith and the producers as well as the cast of the series./**

Caroline hasn't seen or heard from Klaus since she distracted him to help her friends set a trap for his brother, Kol. It's been two weeks, now. Not a word, not a sign. Unexpectedly, she felt bad about it. She's not used to manipulate someone's feelings the way she did. Even though, he wasn't exactly "someone". He was a thousand-years-old sadistic murderer, an _original_ monster. But he was the smartest and most intriguing man she ever met. And somehow, he cared about her. She couldn't stop thinking about it. She decided to pay him a visit at his place. However, she knew it wasn't the wisest thing to do. She did it anyway…

She rang the doorbell and waited. No answer. Then she noticed that the front door was open. She entered, slowly, and looked around. The lights were off and she didn't hear a sound. The living room seemed empty.

The young lady stopped in the middle of the big room where she danced with Klaus at the ball, remembering how charming he was that night. She still didn't know why on earth he would latch on to her.

She was about to leave when someone grabs strongly her arm.

_Klaus_.

"You're here to finish your work ?" he asked, calmly, without letting go of her arm.

She couldn't see his expression in the dark but she felt his anger.

"No." she simply answered.

"I'm here to say sorry…" Caroline added with a soft voice, almost a whisper.

"How sweet !" he said ironically. "It's an unnecessary human convention that I highly despise. Saying sorry and then expecting me to forgive you, for some reason."

He paused and then went on in a low voice.

"I don't have much left to give, Caroline…"

"Can you at least give me my arm back or is it too much to ask ?"

He smiled for a second. Then grabbed her other arm with a glacial expression on his face.

"Why are you here ? They sent you in another vain attempt to kill me ?"

"Nobody sent me. I'm here because I owe you an apology. But as you said, it was unnecessary. And stupid."

He let her go and walked away from her.

"I've been thinking about so many ways to make you suffer agonies before ripping out your heart in front of those little dim friends of yours."

"I've been waiting. Why didn't you do it ?"

He turned around and came closer. He looked almost vulnerable for a moment.

"I would've missed you, Caroline."

She opened her mouth to speak but before any word came out, he abruptly said: "Now, feel free to go before I change my mind."

Caroline stood still, trying to regain some control over the rush of her own emotions.

"I'm not afraid to die." she finally said.

"Don't be silly, love. My patience has its limits. And you're too far beyond them."

"I was just trying to help Elena."

"Save it ! It doesn't matter, now." he yelled at her with daggers in his glare.

"What options did I have ? I could've asked you to help but you wouldn't have listened, would you ?"

"I guess, we'll never know. Besides, no one asks you to justify yourself."

"Fair enough. I took my chance… too late. I'll go." she said with a touch of sadness in her voice.

She was about to leave when, to her surprise, he kindly stopped her from walking away.

"One for the road ?" he offered with a big and charming smile on his face.

She wanted to argue, to be mad, to ask him why he keeps changing his mind and his expressions but, instead, she simply smiled back in relief.

"I heard that this phrase derives from the practice of offering condemned felons a final drink on the way to the place of public execution in London. Dropping hints about the end of this evening ?"

"I don't know, myself, how this will end since it started so well. Surprise me."

Klaus gave her a glass of wine and sat next to her in the couch. They stayed for a little while, without talking. Just sitting there. Content.

"So can you tell me now what brings you here so late?"

"I already told you." she answered, shifting her gaze.

"I heard. But why ? Why bother ?" he insisted forcing her to face him.

"Because…" she mattered, incapable of verbalizing any of her thoughts.

"Oh bloody hell, just say it already! I'm not gonna bite you."

"Because there's something so endearing about you. I'm tired of pretending it's not there. And apparently, my urge to take a chance to explore it is bigger than my common sense…"

He looked amused.

"It's not challenging anymore, is it ?" she asks, nervous.

"We're just getting started, my dear." he answered.

Suddenly, Caroline felt dizzy and her vision became blurry.

"What did you do ? You drugged me…"

She gave Klaus one last resentful look before she fainted.


	2. Chapter 2: Millennium

Caroline came progressively to her senses. She looked around her, completely disorientated. She couldn't say how much time she's been unconscious.

She was quick to look at her finger and sighed in relief: her ring was still there. But she wasn't out of woods quite yet.

_What is this place? Where the hell is Klaus?_

She found herself lying in a bed, in a room, in an unknown location…

Instead of freaking out, she decided to jump out of bed and started exploring the place.

The floor was covered with old-style parquet. Shades of off-white covered the walls.

She left the room.

In the corridor, entire sections were hidden by nearly a dozen of renaissance paintings and posters of varying sizes and content, mostly expressing political ideas, or taste in art and music.

_Klaus' taste._

There were large apartments in each side of the clearway but she didn't get in. She continued searching for a way out.

The young girl climbed down the stairs using her vampire speed even though she felt weak and still a little dizzy.

To her amazement, she ended up in a large room with a fine décor, lightened only by candles. All the walls were made of engraved glass. Only moments later, she saw that Klaus was standing in the frame door, a glass of champagne in his hand.

"On a clear night, you can admire the stars with naked eye from here. No need for telescopes."

She lifted her head, it was a clear night. Such a breath-taking view.

"Now, let's have a drink!" He said, enthusiastic.

Caroline gave him a look full of hatred.

"Ouch!" He mocked.

"Is this one of your sick games? I will not engage in that kind of thing." She sighed of exasperation.

She headed to the door but Klaus stood in her way, preventing her from getting outside.

"Oh come on, don't be such a killjoy, dear. You never let yourself go, do you?"

"Please, don't give me that crap about embracing my true nature because I simply don't care about what you think of me." She responded, faking indifference.

"Truth to be told, your opinion does matter to me, though. Tell me what you think of me."

"I said I'm not playing any of your games."

"Come on, spell it out loud and clear. I want to hear it."

"Why don't we skip the intro and get right to the part where you tell me why you drugged me and brought me in this creepy place."

"I can see that you're really determined to offend me."

He wasn't smiling anymore. She expected an angrier and more impulsive reaction but he remained calm and impassive.

"I'm just a little curious. Why your _little_ friends haven't showed or even called yet, hum?"

"I will not answer this question, Klaus."

"You're right. It's a rhetorical device. If Elena was involved, they would be already, here, bustling around like sick puppies."

She felt annoyed. Especially because, deep down, she knew he was right.

"Or send you instead, to distract me. It's actually very clever. I'm getting very old, I need distractions. Was it your idea, sweetheart? No, I think I know. Damon." He added with an irritated gesture.

She moved backwards cautiously at the sound of his threatening voice.

"You're trying to miss up with my head. Please, stop it."

"I'm trying to make you see obvious dysfunctions in your own relationships since you've been so judgmental about mine."

He gazed at her for a long moment without saying a word. It made her very uncomfortable and nervous.

"I know what this is all about. You feel betrayed but you have no right to be." She finally spoke her mind.

"Oh, don't worry about it, love. I'll get over it. I just need another thousand years to do so."

He smiled but she wasn't a hundred per cent sure he was just teasing her.

She looked at him with desperation in her wide blue eyes and somehow it softened him.

"All right, I'll stop it. No more beating around the bush. Please, sit down. We need to talk."

It could never mean something good when someone tells you the words_ we need to talk, _she thought. But she wanted to know why he brought her here in such mysterious circumstances.

She sat down on the couch, next to him.

He pulled out Rebekah's phone and showed Caroline the video his sister took in the cave where Elena was taken as a hostage.

"There is a way to end all this mess I've created over the centuries. It's written in the cave. The White Oak tree…"

"The one you and your family burned so nothing could ever kill you?"

"No, another one. It's not like they're popping from the ground like mushrooms but the witches, apparently, found a way to replace the old one." He calmly said.

It was a total shock for Caroline. She stared at him wide-eyed.

"When everyone - including myself- was wondering what the hell really brought me in this bloody town… It's been there the whole time, graved in stone. My urge to sire my own super race made me come all the way here to face my real fate. Funny, isn't it?" He added.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I thought that you and your little friends will be glad to know about it."

"You drugged me and brought me to this place to tell me that there is a way to kill you?"

She still couldn't get it.

"First, I brought you here for an entirely different reason. Rebekah and I came out with a plan to use you find the tree, destroy it and then kill all and each of you."

"Why didn't you stick to your plan?" she asked, suspiciously.

"And then live happily ever after?" He scoffed. "It's useless. There will always be a tree or a curse awaiting me around the corner. I convinced Rebekah to take-off and disappear. If she had followed my path, she would have been permanently in great danger."

There was some kind of empathy in her eyes. She was discovering a new dimension in Klaus' personality she couldn't hate.

"My family members… I wanted to get rid of them but still keep them close. In a way, it's how everyone feels about their families but I took it to a very extreme level. So I ended up alone. Again."

He paused then went on in a broken voice.

"You know, I desperately wanted to take you in an amazing journey. Away from all this mess that slipped out of hand. Starting from here, in Eastern Europe where it all started. I built this house, centuries ago; it's the closest thing for me to home. But here I am, as lonely as ever, dragging you here without your consent, otherwise you never would've let me."

She realized it was his first real confession to her. It sounded very strange and intense coming out of his mouth.

As he spoke, she wasn't sure where he would have gone next with his confessions. But she was completely captivated. She felt his pain for the very first time.

"I will not bore you with the details of my existential problems, any longer. If I am astray, I only stray to the loss of my own soul..."

"You're going through a millennium crisis or something? What happens to your little secret? Your great cities and art; and music? The whole world waiting, the genuine beauty?" she finally asked, disconcerted.

A mysterious smile covered his doleful face at the echo of his own words rephrased by Caroline. The same words he shared with her so generously not so long ago. In her birthday. Right before feeding her with his blood to save her life.

"I've seen it all. Twice. Three times. And more than I can ever remember. Déjà vu over and over again."

"You spent centuries hunting down others, being hunted. Taking all possible precautions even in the most extreme excesses because of some curse or some angry father…"

"Now because you heard a part of my story, you think you know my every thought and feeling?"

"All I know is that there is no genuine beauty in revenge and fear. And definitely not in suicide." she spontaneously said.

He moved closer, looked her in the eyes and gently held her hands.

"Why didn't I meet you back then when everything was still possible? And when it was worth the trouble to chase the impossible."

"May be the future still holds a reward for you."

He laughed the joyless laugh of those whose souls are tearing to pieces.

"There is no future for a being like me, darling. Life is a circle. And as I said before, I've been around it so viciously more than twice. I've seen enough of the world and the world has seen enough of me."

"You've been dragging your past with you, all the way around. A heavy, dark past and I'm not just talking about the coffins. If you let it go, you'll see things from a whole new perspective. Even things you've seen before. You'll live the life you truly deserve. And die, eventually. Pleased."

"Words of wisdom from such a young soul. As comforting as it sounds, I'm pleased now."

He gently caresses her hand with his fingertips then moved his face closer to hers. She dived into his penetrating gaze and felt a sudden rush of adrenaline. Every cell of her trembling body was craving for him to kiss her. But since he never showed any sign of real physical attraction to her, she didn't expect it to happen anytime soon. When he finally did, she had a feeling of weightlessness. It seemed almost like she was never been kissed before. It was soft and electrifying in the same time. He was a thousand-years-old handsome, powerful and experienced _man_, after all. But the way he kissed her was far beyond any expectations.

"Mesmerizing!" He exclaimed when he finally moved away.

She was figuratively out of breath. She couldn't think straight. That's why she didn't contest when he carried her, upstairs, in his arms. On the contrary, she hung on to his neck in real delight.

(To be continued…)


	3. Chapter 3: Beauty and the Villain

Caroline woke up bathed in sweat and startled. She looked around. Klaus was lying next to her. They were both naked.

"It's just a bad dream. It's over, now." Klaus said in a reassuring voice.

"Is it?" She anxiously asked, thinking out loud.

Klaus, gently, put out his arms and folded her to his breast.

"Don't over think it, dear." He simply answered, knowing she was referring to what happened between them earlier this night. "It was marvelous."

She couldn't agree more. Huddled together, it was as if they formed a single being. Out beyond any prejudices, they explored, body and soul, the quiet raptures of happiness.

_There is nothing to feel guilty about_, she tried to convince herself, now that she came back to her moral senses.

It was still dark outside.

"How long have I been sleeping?" She asked, in an obvious attempt to think about something else.

"Enough time for you to start snoring like a dinosaur ." He teased her, with an amused smile.

"So untrue !" She protested.

"A beautiful tiny dinosaur, I should say."

She burst into laughter.

"Since it's the topic, do you snore ?"

"It's been forever since anyone has been able to tell me so…" He answered, looking quite thoughtful.

Suddenly, she stood up.

"I have to go before my mother goes home and find out I'm not there. She will ask questions and…"

"I know."

She started looking for her clothes.

"There is not much left of them, Caroline."

"Oh God !" She exclaimed, realizing that they were all torn up to pieces during their stormy lovemaking.

"My apologies, love. But maybe I can redeem myself, right away."

He moved to the closet and brought her a beautiful white summer dress. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"I'm not sure…"

"I can assure you that this is not too expensive. I just saw it and thought that it would look lovely on you."

"I love it. Thank you."

She, excitedly, put the dress on and turned around to show him.

"I was, definitely, not wrong."

"Now, tell me how do we get to Mystic Falls from here ?"

"There is a car, with a driver, waiting for you outside. He will drive you to the airport. It's all been settled."

She wasn't sure if it was cute or creepy that he was always at least two steps ahead, in any situation. The dress, the car… But all she could think about is that he wasn't leaving with her.

"Are you staying ?" She asked with a soft voice.

"For the time being, yes."

She had a hard time hiding her deception when he accompanied her to the bottom of the stairs. He, for sure, noticed it. But they both stayed quiet until he opened the front door and confidently said:

"We'll meet again. Soon."

She gave him a quick and nervous hug before leaving. The black car drove off as soon as she got in. When she looked back out the window, Klaus was gone.

It was quite chilly when she arrived at the airport but early morning sunlight started to warm up the air.

In her way to the boarding gate, she found herself face to face with…

"Tyler !" She screamed, astounded.

"Klaus set me free. I'm no longer tied up to him. We can be together, again."

She stared at him, in silence, trying not to fall apart in tiny pieces. She could not feel the ground under her feet.

"Caroline, are you okay ?" He asked, anxiously. "I'm so sorry. It must be quite a shock for you. But when Klaus called me yesterday telling me that he will break the bound and giving me your location, I couldn't wait to share the good news with you."

Suddenly, tears started flowing down her cheeks and millions of thoughts crossing her mind.

**Please leave a review if you want me to continue this story. Or if you hate it and want me stop. :)**


	4. Chapter 4: Disclosure

It was a quiet night in Mystic Falls. Damon was at the Grill's bar, drinking like a fish.

A lonely fish.

He, actually, needed a _real_ drink because nothing else would assuage his thirst and his anger. He was considering this when Elena joined him. She looked tired and concerned.

"Not that I care anymore but what is it this time ?" He asked, drinking down his whiskey shot.

"Nothing. I'm here to have a drink, just like you. And since this is the only place I know in this town, you are stuck with me."

"No, I'm not. I was about to leave."

"Then I'll stay all by myself. I start to get into the habit, lately."

"Where is everyone?"

"If by everyone you mean Jeremy, Bonnie, Caroline, Alaric, Stefen… They are all out of town, or missing. Or avoiding me."

He started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Turnarounds always make laugh." He answered. "They are moving on, why don't you do the same?"

She ignored his question.

"I'm worried about Alaric. It's not like him to just disappear like this, without a trace."

"Nothing to be alarmed about. He's enjoying himself with the crazy doctor."

"He didn't return any of my calls."

"As I said 'enjoying' himself. You should try it some time, you know ! Or you'll end up with ugly wrinkles before turning 30."

"Good night, Damon."

"Good night Elena."

(*)(*)(*)

Caroline was in her room, alone. She was absorbed in watching the white dress tidily put down on her bed; thinking about her _one and only thrill_ that playfully manipulated her.

All of a sudden, her mom knocked on the door -dragging her out of her thoughts- and announced:

"Bonnie is here, sweetheart."

"Let her in, mom." She answered. Then, rapidly, tossed the dress in the garbage and tried to look relaxed.

"Hey Caroline!"

"Hey Bonnie! How's your mom doing? "

"She took off just after her transition."

"Oh ! I'm sorry I haven't come to visit you for the last three days…"

"Don't worry about me. I know you have your own stuff to take care of since Tyler is back. By the way, I thought you would be with him until I met him earlier and he told me he hasn't seen you neither. Is everything okay? "

"We decided to take it slow." She simply answered, looking away.

"I understand. But there is something more. I can see it. Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really…"

"Alright, then I won't bother you with my visions."

"What visions? Tell me."

"I've been invaded by visions involving you, lately."

"What about me?"

"I'm not quite sure, yet. It was all blurry and interspersed."

She paused for a moment.

"But in one of them, you're, clearly, killing Klaus." Bonnie added in a slow voice.

"What? Me? Killing Klaus? How?"

"I didn't figure this part out, yet."

"This is absurd. He can't be killed." She instinctively lied.

"We can't say that for sure. The last few months taught us that this statement is not as immutable as he wants it to be."

"Have you told anyone else about all this, yet?"

"Tell who? My mom is gone, Ester is missing… And I have absolutely no more business to do with the Salvatore's and their little protégée." Bonnie said, outraged.

"Besides, if I do, it would make you a target at all levels." She added with real concern in her eyes.

Caroline needed time to process all this. In the meanwhile, she preferred not to share the valuable information she held about the Oak Tree with her friend. But she knew that it was only a matter of time before Bonnie would put the pieces together. She was a powerful witch. She had to think fast and efficiently to make the right call.

_Why should it be MY call?_ She thought, overtaken by recent events.

For a reason she couldn't admit -but couldn't deny neither- , the idea of killing Klaus repulsed her. Even when she hated him the most, she had never considered the possibility of being the one to kill him. And now, after all what happened, she was more undecided and lost than ever.

It was hard enough to deal with her rising and conflicting feelings for _him_…

_**Your reviews are most welcome, indeed ! :)**_


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